Serious fitting issues....................HELP PLEASE !!

Raffles

I visited several dealers today with a view to looking at a potential new bike purchase. One dealer was a real nice guy who tells it like it is, and I admire this quality. The bike that blew me away was the 2013 Giant Defy 1 in white/red/black ............I loved it. Im 173cm ( 5 feet 8 inches ) with 29 inch inseam, the dealer selected the size medium which has a 545mm top tube. When I sat on it my first comment was "its too long". I knew that 20 mins riding it and id get pain in my left shoulder from over reaching. The dealer had a defy 1 which was one size smaller and I sat on it, he said "thats too small for you" and Im left in a quandry. He was only slightly taller than me and when he sat on the medium it looked a real good fit. He scratched his head and said to me "you aint built right ", it looks like I have short arms, short legs and a long torso.........so what the heck do I do ? I really liked the defy 1 and the dealer said I can fit you to the medium but its gonna take a while tweaking,

Now I am adamant that I do not want a set up that would make the defy 1 look like it belonged in a circus. A huge wad of spacers, a stem with such a rise it nearly puts your eye out or a stem so short that it makes the front end more squirrely than a tree full of squirrels is not something im handing over £999 for.

What steps can the dealer take to fit me to the defy 1 medium and make it work ? I so envy riders with body geometry that just fits on bikes , for me its always a hassle.

alihisgreat

More aggressive position? drop the stem on the smaller one? Longer stem on the smaller one?

I felt the same about the Large Defy when I tried it.. ended up on a M/L and its perfect.

Raffles

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

More aggressive position? drop the stem on the smaller one? Longer stem on the smaller one?

I felt the same about the Large Defy when I tried it.. ended up on a M/L and its perfect.

I am looking at endurance bikes because a more upright riding position is more comfy for my 43 years, if I went for the smaller size then the head tube would be shorter and to raise it back up = ton of spacers

see where Im coming from ?

alihisgreat

Unfortunately you may have to look elsewhere for a geometry that suits then..

Grill

I would ride the Defy in a medium and have a good 4 inches on you. Most people my height would be on the M/L but it just goes to show that everyone is built differently. The small is most likely the correct size. Did the dealer attempt to adjust saddle height, fore/aft, stack height, stem length, or anything for that matter? Getting a small bike to fit isn't really an issue, but getting one that is too big to fit properly is an exercise in futility.

You should also keep in mind that there's a chance that the geometry of the Defy just isn't right for you and you should look elsewhere.

Wily-Quixote

I'm 173 cm and built like you and also have the problem of poor flexibility. I ride a bike with a 54.5 cm top tube but I have a seatpost with no setback with no setback ( because I have short legs). The stem is 100 mm with a 7 degree rise and my bartop is about a cm or so below my saddle.
There's more to a frame than top tube length, I'm only including this info to let you know that a bike of this length may be fine for you... Although I needed a no setback post to get it right, something you may not want to do.

Grill

Wily-Quixote wrote:

I'm 173 cm and built like you and also have the problem of poor flexibility. I ride a bike with a 54.5 cm top tube but I have a seatpost with no setback with no setback ( because I have short legs). The stem is 100 mm with a 7 degree rise and my bartop is about a cm or so below my saddle.
There's more to a frame than top tube length, I'm only including this info to let you know that a bike of this length may be fine for you... Although I needed a no setback post to get it right, something you may not want to do.

You have just described a bike with a frame that is clearly too large and has been bodged to fit.

@OP- Don't do this.

Raffles

Grill wrote:

Wily-Quixote wrote:

I'm 173 cm and built like you and also have the problem of poor flexibility. I ride a bike with a 54.5 cm top tube but I have a seatpost with no setback with no setback ( because I have short legs). The stem is 100 mm with a 7 degree rise and my bartop is about a cm or so below my saddle.
There's more to a frame than top tube length, I'm only including this info to let you know that a bike of this length may be fine for you... Although I needed a no setback post to get it right, something you may not want to do.

You have just described a bike with a frame that is clearly too large and has been bodged to fit.

@OP- Don't do this.

I dont think there is a single rider here who will hand over £999 for a new bike KNOWING that in order to ride it that it will be a bodge job......I certainly wouldnt.

Id like to use a setback post in a riding position that puts me just a lil bit behind the bottom bracket thus giving me good leverage thru the cranks. The pointing at the stars stem situation in order to shorten reach is just a joke and ive seen some bikes with these set ups that look abominable. Im as frustrated as hell to be honest.....it shouldnt be this hard to get the RIGHT fit.....should it ?

Grill

Knowingly? Of course not, but for two things. First is that there are a lot of greedy douches out there that want to sell as many bikes as possible regardless of fit. Second is that many people buy without getting properly fitted and then are forced to make the bike fit because they're either too proud or too broke to do it right the second time. I'm guilty of it too, and after the second wrong frame in a month I finally swallowed my pride and got a proper fitting which let to my purchase of the correct bike.

Wily-Quixote

If one has short legs I don't see an issue with getting a non layback post. All other dimensions on the bike work well.
If I went a smaller frame I'd need a longer, higher stem to achieve the same hand position, and probably wouldn't be able to get into the drops without a lot of spacers. A custom frame would be ideal, I suppose, otherwise it's always a compromise somewhere.

ShutUpLegs

To the OP, have a look at the Van Nicholas Aquila geometry

navrig

Don't buy a Defy. You'll find another model or make which will fit better. Be patient and avoid the "all that glitters....." reaction when you go into a bike shop.

Raffles

my other choice was the 54 cannondale synapse , but i fear it may be more of the same

TheEnglishman

You're spending a grand on a bike. Why not spend a bit more and get a bike fit? You can't really expect bike manufacturers to have an off the shelf bike that is set up for you.

A decent bike fit is £40 upwards - perhaps £200 for an all whistles and bells one....

LegendLust

TheEnglishman wrote:

You're spending a grand on a bike. Why not spend a bit more and get a bike fit? You can't really expect bike manufacturers to have an off the shelf bike that is set up for you.

A decent bike fit is £40 upwards - perhaps £200 for an all whistles and bells one....

I agree. A bike fit is always worth the money, but only if you go to an independent specialist.

Depends where you live in the UK. Velo Solutions have an Italian guy that comes over every month and does fittings in London. I was fitted by Giuseppe and he is excellent. If you don't live in London then Adrian Timmis at Cadence Sport in Stoke has a greta reputation as well.

http://www.velosolutions.eu/
http://www.cadencesport.co.uk/bike-fitting/

Go see these guys and they will get a bike to fit you right.

giant_man

The problem is shops offering 'bike fitting' don't always know, or haven't been trained, in how to measure someone for a bike and to fit the bike to them, cos apart from a different size stem or seat adjustment, you can't do it the other way around. So you get situations like this unfortunately.

Some bike shops seem to think that if a certain 54cm frame fits an individual, then any 54cm frame will be the same. NO! EVERY model of frame will be different. And I do echo what's previously been said about any shop wanting to sell you any size frame they have in stock just to make a sale, and that's the problem right there.